Training Huskies is definitely a challenge
The independent and headstrong nature of Huskies is no news. That is why are huskies hard to train? Huskies are remarkably independent, such that they act stubborn while being trained. You need special techniques and a lot of patience to teach your Husky properly. Be prepared with the fact that it is not going to be easy.
Are Huskies Hard To Train-Don’t worry, Huskies can obviously be trained
No matter how difficult it is, it is certainly possible to train your Husky. Even the most mischievous and stubborn Huskies can be disciplined to some extent. You can absolutely teach your Husky to follow your commands and behave well.
More often than not, some Huskies fail to become obedient because of the wrong training techniques. Given the right approach, these loving dogs are meant to follow. So if you employ the right training methods and gather sufficient patience, it wouldn’t be so difficult to train your Husky.
The trick is to alter the training method with time
The trick to training Huskies is that the training method needs to be altered with time. Huskies are very independent by nature. So the method of training must change and evolve with their mood.
Huskies go through different phases during their training period. Sometimes they are good and they are bad at other times. You’ll have to show enormous patience at times when it seems that your Husky has forgotten everything you taught them.
This difficulty in training is owed to their intelligence
Huskies are difficult to train because they are very intelligent. They are quick to understand and follow everything you teach them. But their intelligence also makes it easy for them to avoid you. So while training a Husky, you’d have to conquer the additional ordeal of getting ignored and taken for granted.
Training a Husky is not just about making them obey your commands. It is also about helping them overcome their strong sense of independence to follow your commands. Huskies are very smart and they can obviously grasp your teachings as soon as they impart them. Never misunderstand a Husky to be stupid just because they aren’t following. You ought to make them learn how to follow first. Or your headstrong Husky would only do what they like.
Huskies learn faster than most dogs
Although Huskies take more time to follow through on the commands, they actually learn faster. This is owed to their superior intelligence. However, they start ignoring you as soon as they learn the command. This is why you ought to spend extra time training your Husky.
Once you make them learn a command, you’d need to spend some more time reinforcing the command. You gotta make sure that your Husky follows the command in every scenario. There are some special tricks that help in making your Husky learn and follow through faster.
Once you employ adequate training principles and avoid the common pitfalls in training, it would be relatively easy to train your Husky.
The key is to never give up
No matter how difficult it may be to train a Husky, no Husky is untrainable. One Husky may be more headstrong than all others, but they can all definitely be trained. A lot of people mark Huskies as untrainable because they stop the training as soon as they watch their Husky pretending to ignore the previous lesson.
Your Husky must follow through in all sorts of environments
It feels like the hours of practice and patience have gone to waste. However, this is when you call your patience. Your Husky will learn to follow the command fast but they need to learn to follow in all sorts of situations. You ought to introduce distractions in training and make them follow commands in different scenarios.
By the end of the training, your Husky must be aware that they need to follow the given commands in all sorts of environments.
Do not stop the training whatsoever
When you stop their training, you give your Husky the signal to obey in a particular environment. Then they don’t understand how to obey those commands under different conditions in a different scenario. You ought to teach your Husky to obey commands in all sorts of environments.
That is why you must not stop just once they have started following your commands. Their training needs adequate reinforcement. You need to keep training them until they learn to follow commands thoroughly no matter what environment they are in. if you stop training your Husky, they could end up becoming less obedient.
Know how to train your Husky well
You need a thorough plan to adequately train your Husky. You start by the utmost simple method and then slowly strengthen your approach.
Focus on one command
You ought to focus on one command at one time. Introduce a command to them and work on just that until they learn. You cannot introduce many different commands at one time because then you’d require different training sessions for each of them.
Train in a comfortable environment
Make sure that your Husky is being trained in a stress-free environment. In the absence of distractions, they will be able to focus well on your words. It would be best if you are alone with your Husky at the time of training.
If there are distractions, your Husky will not be able to pay due attention. You will have to employ more effort in introducing very simple commands.
Employ positive reinforcement
Huskies learn best when they are well rewarded. You ought to reward them for every command they follow. Positive reinforcement with the help of a treat, toy, or an exciting appreciation would do wonders for your Husky.
You must reward them even for minor improvements. So if they are able to follow a command just for two seconds, give them a treat. You ought to celebrate the smallest wins to get where you want. With appropriate encouragement, your Husky will learn faster. Slowly, you can replace actual treats with pieces of carrot. The key is to encourage them through.
Train in environments with distractions
You must not consider your training finished if your Husky begins to obey your commands at home. Once they are able to follow at home, you must upgrade their training to a slightly more difficult scenario. This step is popularly known as ‘proofing’.
Your Husky must be able to follow commands in environments that are not as calm. You need to upgrade the training of your Husky to different environments with increasing disturbances. This will render the best possible obedience and discipline to your Husky so they will be able to respond at all times.
You must introduce new commands gradually under different levels of disturbance.
Employ the appropriate training principles
You must never give up on training your Husky. At the most, training a Husky is less about the difficulty and more about employing the right methods.
Counter-conditioning
Huskies have an innate sense of independence. Counter-conditioning means that you train your Husky to act in a way that is opposite to their natural behavior. Know that your Husky would not give up on their natural behavior if you simply say ‘no’.
You cannot stop your Husky from doing a certain act by refusing them to do so. But you can absolutely reward them when they engage in the opposite act. If you want your Husky to stay on the ground and not jump on you on every occasion, you must reward them at times they greet you while sitting.
Generalization
Generalization refers to training your Husky in different environments. When you train them to obey a command in environments with different levels of disturbances, you teach them to listen to pay attention to you at all times.
Fading
This step is certainly important. You don’t wish your Husky to expect a reward every time they follow a command. You must gradually reduce the rewards so that your Husky would get used to following commands even without positive reinforcement.
A good and obedient Husky would follow your command even when there is no external motivating factor.
Proofing
Proofing refers to the gradual increase in distractions around your Husky during training. Oftentimes, Huskies tend to stop listening to commands in the presence of distractions. You must start with smaller distractions and slowly raise the level.
Conclusion
While it is not impossible to train a Husky, they are definitely more difficult to train than most other dogs. This is essential because of the independent and headstrong nature of Huskies. Their innate sense of independence makes it difficult for them to follow commands. This is why it is important to have a lot of patience while training a Husky.
By employing appropriate methods and techniques, you can definitely train your Husky to follow you in all sorts of environments. It may not be very easy to train a Husky, but it is certainly not impossible.